The late-night stars must really have liked what they saw. Two days later Letterman spent nearly a minute near the beginning of his show talking about WorkPlay, the concert and the city.

"Paul and I had the good fortune to be in Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend. It was unbelievable," Letterman said.

Shaffer then described WorkPlay, which is a Southside concert venue, bar, sound stage and office complex.

The facility already has a great reputation as a performance venue among artists nationwide, Montgomery said. But Letterman's praise will make it an even easier pitch to musicians.

Tom Williams, who with his brother Clark bought the venue in March, said he got tipped off that the plug was coming when someone on Letterman's staff sent him an email after the show was taped during the day Monday.

He already knew Letterman and Shaffer liked the facility, he said. Shaffer, who visited the venue during the day Saturday for a sound check, took a tour and was particularly impressed, he said.

"He was one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet," Williams said of the band leader.

WorkPlay is already getting mileage out of the plug. It's posted a video clip from the Late Show on its website, and may use it in advertising, Williams said.

"We're definitely going to use that clip," Williams said. "All it can do is help."

And, both Williams and Montgomery said, the plug from Letterman is good for more than just WorkPlay. At a time when Alabama is dealing with national publicity related to its controversial immigration law, undeniably positive publicity is especially valuable, they said.

"It's nice for Birmingham to be on national TV with something positive and cool," Montgomery said.

This item appeared in The Insider, a weekly column in The Birmingham News.